. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. From the Editor A Lion or a Lamb? aybe Spring 2000 will skip the lion bit and | just come on in like a lamb. Such is the plea from many North Carolinians 1 who in recent months have seen weather records shattered, from massive flooding that followed Hurricane Floyd to two feet of snow in January. And while we all know that April showers bring May flowers, many Tar Heels will be checking both the Old Fanner's Almanac and the latest online forecasts. North Carolina Sea Grant researchers will continue to moni
. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. From the Editor A Lion or a Lamb? aybe Spring 2000 will skip the lion bit and | just come on in like a lamb. Such is the plea from many North Carolinians 1 who in recent months have seen weather records shattered, from massive flooding that followed Hurricane Floyd to two feet of snow in January. And while we all know that April showers bring May flowers, many Tar Heels will be checking both the Old Fanner's Almanac and the latest online forecasts. North Carolina Sea Grant researchers will continue to monitor rivers, estuaries, sounds and coastal ocean waters for environmental effects from Floyd's floods, not to mention the effects of the melted snow and melting agents, as well as other winter storms. Initially, Floyd's freshwater plume lowered salinity levels. Pockets of low oxygen levels resulted in stressed fish and shellfish, but no major fish kills. In October, coastal residents braced themselves for Hurricane Irene, but that storm actually helped areas such as Pamlico Sound, where winds stirred the soupy waters, renewing some mixing of salt and oxygen. Before the January snow hit much of the state, Pamlico Sound still was showing areas of salinity half the normal rate. 'There is a lot of fresh water that needs to exit the system or evaporate," says Hans Paerl of the University of North Carolina Institute of Marine Sciences. In the Pamlico, that exit normally takes almost a year. In six weeks following Floyd, the sound received as much nitrogen and other nutrients as it normally receives in six months, Paerl says. More nutrients could result in a higher productivity rate for algae. "It depends on the weather. If it is calm, stagnant and sunny, we may see some blooms that could reduce oxygen levels," Paerl says. Mike Mallin of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington is watching for heavy rains in swine-producing areas. If Floyd's floodwaters carried ani
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